Real stories · The first-thing-on cardigan

There's one cardigan on the back of my chair all winter — this year it got an upgrade

The cardigan that's first on every morning — every woman my age has one, and mine has just been magnificently upgraded. I'm 67, and for years THE cardigan lived on the back of my chair: shapeless, beloved, and frankly past its best. It went over everything, matched nothing, and had long stopped being seen in public.

What I wanted was a daily cardigan I didn't have to take off before answering the door.

Then I found the Serenya from a British label called York Boutique — a long cardigan in soft cream with a generous open front and two proper patch pockets. It comes in the one lovely colour, in one easy size with a relaxed, generous drape.

The drape is the difference. It's long enough to actually keep the warmth in, but it hangs without adding bulk — which is why it reads as an outfit rather than a blanket with sleeves — and it's breathable, so it stays on all day without overheating. And the pockets: reading glasses, phone, tissue, the odd dog treat. A filing system I wear.

Long enough to actually keep you warm, draped so it never adds bulk, with pockets that hold the glasses, the phone and the tissue — the cardigan that's first on every morning and last off every night.

It was £39.95, which is normally where I pause — but for something worn every single day from October to April, the cost-per-wear arithmetic embarrasses everything else I own. Half the usual £80, a fortnight to send it back, free delivery. The old cardigan has been retired to the shed. Malcolm's shed.

It has since done every morning for two weeks, three doorstep conversations conducted without shame, and one bookshop trip as an actual outfit, and Sandra — who has met the old cardigan — looked at this one and said 'well, that's a promotion'. It is.

If your chair-back cardigan is also past its best, do have a look. The Serenya is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 250 women, it comes in the one cream colour, in one easy size with plenty of drape — and at half price it goes quickly.